BIG transition

I have been racing crits all year as many of you know. The last two weekends was a big shock to the system by having US Pro road race nationals in Greenville SC then the following weekend was Philly. These two races are very prestigious races in the US and were big races for the team. I knew I had the fitness but maybe not the climbing legs I would need. Either way I was going to give it a 100% and see where is took me.
This was my first Pro nationals and I was very excited but also very nervous. Our main goal was to get Freddie a 4th national title. The course was the same as the last 7 years with a good 9 min climb in it. I knew this was going to be my Achilles heel. My job was to just hang in as long as I could and help Freddie with anything he needed, fetch water, bring to the front, ride the front. Long story short I only lasted half the race and was pretty bummed but also it was a new style of racing from the past 1.5 months 1.5 hr-120 miles. In the end a break went on the last climb and Timmy Duggan on Liqigas soloed for the win and Freddie top 20.

Then Philly, I watched this race every year since I started racing and I knew it was a big race. I was in the same shoes as I was last week but in Philly it had a lot shorter climb that suited my riding style. It was pretty crazy riding the course and have never actually riding it before I felt like I road it multiple times from watching so many editions. Again my role was to keep Freddie fresh, it was a hot day so this meant going back to the car to get lots of water. In the end Freddie got 3rd and I finished 3 min of the lead group after all my duties early in the race.

Check this link for a video of Philly!
http://youtu.be/IH0l2_yXgK8


























Now I am enjoying some R&R after racing full on and being on the road for close to two months. I will be in Boulder for close to a month before the second half of the season. I am very happy with the season so far and really look forward to what the race of the year has to bring.

Other news Kenny finally got a twitter. Follow him  @KWithrow3x
Thanks for Reading,
Ginger 1

State to State..

Wow, I still can't believe how fast time is really moving. Being on the road all the time I guess you loose track of time. Since my last post I have raced in St. Louis for 3 days and Wilmington Delaware.  St. Louis was a very cool town that I have never been too before. The racing was good just lady luck was not on our side for the weekend. We were either caught behind crashes or involved in crashes in the closing laps of the race. You can't be lucky every time but we were all fortunate enough to leave with most of our skin!

 After a hard 3 days of racing we started our travel to Wilmington Delaware, we ended up staying in New Market Virginia for a couple days. It was some great riding there with very minimal traffic and some awesome small roads in perfect condition. Even did some dirt roads to with it up a little bit. 

cyclocross style 

Staying connected to Family & Friends

Then on Thursday we were in Wilmington and talking to Elementary schools about bike safety. The first school we went to the whole school came and listen to us talk. It is very important to teach the next generation about bike safety!!

Showing the kids our bike

Then Friday evening was a short proluge with a cobble stone climb for the finish. The course was very technical but fast. Ben was able to take 2nd and I got 6th right ahead of Conor for 7th. Then Saturday night was the main event, a cit downtown. This was a very hot race with it being in the middle of the day. It was a fast hard race but in the end we grabbed the last podium spot with Ben taking 3rd. Sunday we all participated in the Grand Fondo. I have never done a Grand Fondo before so it was kind of nice to change it up a bit and not worry about going fast and just relaxing and talking to the locals on a great scenic ride.
Now we are currently in New York visiting family before all the Americans head to SC on Friday for US Pro road nationals and the other race in New Jersey. All my relatives live in NY so it is a great opportunity to say hello since we were so close. The last time I was here was in Middle school. The riding is not super great but we make it happen.

Thanks for reading
Ginger 1

Speedweek

Just thinking back to last week makes my legs hurt, 9 days with 7 crits, ouch! Late night crits was the theme of the week. It started out in Athens, GA for the first night then we traveled through SC and finished in Sandy Springs a week later. I am not going to write a recap of every race as that would take all day. In the end Team Exergy rode awesome and Carlos won two stages and the overall! I had a couple good days my self on the second day slipped into a break and finished 2nd and the next days finished 4th. I also grabbed the U25 jersey by the end of the week.
The team is now in St. Louis for the Tour de Grove. 3 days and 3 crits. Last night was a twilight race again and in the last two laps there were many crashes that disabled our train. Today is another shot at the win!
Here are some photos from speedweek.

Grid Qualifier

 

Podium 2nd

Other angle 

Hairpin corner

Break 

Final laps

OUCH!!

 

Pain Cave

Best young rider U25

St. Louis 

Thanks for reading
Ginger 1

Time is Flying

The weeks are already blending together and  forget how long I have been on the road. It has been a lot of fun travailing with the guys and staff of the team. We really do get along with each other very easy, it makes it a lot easier to suffer for each other during the races.

Last weekend was the second stop for us for the NCC serires in Anistion AL for the Sunny King Crit. It was another twilight crit in downtown which always makes for a fun and exciting race. It was a 1.5 hr crit and attack after attack. Ben got in a break with Phil from Kenda and drove it for many laps to give us a free ride in the pack. Then once brought back it was back to work to cover moves. In the end Tino Conor and I were in charge to keep the speeds high in the final laps to prevent any late race attacks so Carlos could go for the sprint. In the end Carlos finished 2nd. It was a late night after the race, it is always hard to fall a sleep with all the adrenaline going from the race.

 Last couple laps with Team Exergy on the front!

The Hardest Part of the weekend was having a 8am Road Race start Sunday morning . We had about a 30 min drive to the race start so it was a 5 am wake up call to eat and pack the van. With only about 5 hrs of sleep we were all unsure how the bodies would react. It was a 70 mile hilly course and about 70 guys starting. We were only able to use the right side of the road which always makes it hard to move up so once you are in good position you must fight to stay there. About 20 miles in Tino got in a break that went to the finish. Tino finished 7th and the rest of the team rolled in with the main pack.
We are all now back in Georgia for Speedweek starting this Saturday in Athens. 9 days with 7 crits. Its like a stage race for the crit squads.

Thanks for reading

BAM

Well I have already been on the road for a week now into my next racing block. I am currently in Charlotte North Carolina. We had a Big race on Saturday downtown called The Presbyterian Hospital Invitational Criterium , the highest paying crit in the USA. We were allowed to have 6 guys in the race but we only had five because Tinos plane got delayed coming from Columbia. We did not let that make an effect on the five of us. With it being a two hour crit and the longest crit I have ever done I did not know how the body would react. It was a very fast hard race which was expected but we as a team did very well. We all did what was needed but coming out of the last corner on the last lap there was a crash which made our sprinter Carlos tap his breaks but still managed 5th!
On Sunday there was a smaller crit that quite a few other  teams stuck around to race Noda Grand Prix. It was a 6 corner race with the 3rd and 4th being very tight corners. It was a fast race from the gun and we rode very aggressive. We were up the road all day. With about 14 laps to go Conor road off the front until Kenda brought it back with 8 laps to go. Then all six if us assembled at the front and made a train for Carlos. It was very cool to ride like that and in the end Carlos won. It was a great feeling to get a victory on the first weekend of this trip.
We are off to Alabama tomorrow morning for the Sunny King Crtit this Saturday!

1 lap to go

San Dimas

After the team presentation in Boise ID, the team heading to San Dimas jumped in the van and cars to make the drive. We left Tuesday evening and drove for quite a bit before we got a hotel for the night. Up bright and early to make the long haul to San Dimas Wednesday morning. We made it there Wednesday evening and went for a spin to get the legs loose after sitting in the van for a couple of days. Thursday we did a recon on the TT course that would be Friday afternoon and did some efforts to get the legs ready again for some racing!
Before I knew it I was at the start gate to take on the 3.8 mile TT up the mountain. I had a good warm up and was ready to suffer for the next 15 min or so. I felt good and did an ok ride. Morgan and Matt placed 4th and 5th on the stage and would be so on GC for the RR. Saturday was an 84 mile RR on a 7 mile circuit with a good 2 min steep climb. It was torrential rain and cold for California. We didn't let that stop us for the task ahead and that was to take the yellow jersey. After a cold day Morgan finished 5th on the stage and would grab yellow by 1 sec. We were all excited and were ready to defend it on the last day of the race at the crit. Late that night when everyone was getting ready for bed, the officials sent an email saying they were giving Morgan a 20sec penalty for drafting after a flat tire??????? We will leave it at that....who knows.

Veloimages

So that put Morgan down to 6th place. We did not let that damper our spirits going into the crit and we wanted to make the race interesting. Sunday was an 1.5 hr crit in Downtown San Dimas, with threatening rain we knew we had to put the pressure on. Not too long into the race Morgan and Serg got up the road with a few others and stayed away until 1.5 laps to go. In the end Logan took 4th on the stage, Morgan 5th overall and Matt 10th. Not bad for some bad luck.
The team is riding very strong and are getting their last minute preparation ready for Redlands stage race that starts this Thursday.
I am back in Colorado for a bit after being on the road for over a month. I think I am going to make the trip to Grand Junction this weekend to do a crit and RR. The collegiate team is putting on the race and I think it would be a good time to go see all my friends and keep the legs loose.
Thanks for reading 

Team Presentation

The Team Presentation was last night in Boise, ID. If you were not there you  missed out, a lot of good music and people . The legend Dave Towel was announcing so that says it all...Fantastic.
Big News for Team Exergy today as the Tour of California has invited us to their race!!!
Today eight riders and three staff are heading to San Dimas, CA for the San Dimas stage race that starts on Friday afternoon. This will be the second race weekend for the team and we are all really excited for another round.
Here is some Sweet videos of the team at training camp last month.




exergy team presentation video from Dave Christenson on Vimeo.


http://vimeo.com/38385778